By the Way
by ForsakenDiablo
Summary: Theory of a Deadman SongFic. Fox decides that he should soon ask the girl of his dreams to marry him, yet it doesn't go as he expected. Slight trajedy with fluffy ending! Fox X Krystal!


_Well, just a one shot song fic of mine that I thought of while trying to finish ch.4 of Happiness Comes at a Price so I could get rid of this evil writer's block… Maybe I'll start this up after I'm done with that current story and make it into more than just a one shot… Well review it and tell me if it's worth an extended plot line!_

_-ForsakenDiablo_

Fox sat alone in his bedroom, with his head on the desk. It seemed everything was going great for him, but obviously it wasn't for _her._

It's been several years after the Anglar Invasion, and Fox McCloud had settled down for retirement with his money he had earned from saving the galaxy from peril once again, with only one goal in mind; to bring back Krystal in his life and to settle down to live their lives together, in peace.

Now, God laughed at the distraught vulpine sitting alone in his room.

At first, Fox's dreams were actually beginning to go according to plan, and he thought they were happy together, living the life that she had always wanted from the vulpine of her dreams from the day they openly shared their love.

He thumbed a small black box sitting in front of him, next to several empty bottles of hard liquor. Inside was the key to his eternal happiness, yet the door he thought it belonged to tossed him aside like some casual mate, with no sentimental connections whatsoever. "_How could she have been so quick to toss me aside? I loved her with all of my heart… She even loved me with all of heart… Or so she told me, obviously it was all a lie…"_

He was going to propose to her, simple as that. They had gotten back together several months prior to the incident, when he was sent on a mission to Kew. At first he didn't recognize her, but she knew he was coming from a mile away. What didn't make sense to the vulpine was the thought that she came to him first, wanting him back. Fox remembers the day as if it was yesterday.

**Planet Kew, Two Years Ago**

Fox McCloud was a solo mercenary, taking jobs wherever he could take them. The once great team he belonged to was no more.

Time slowly took effect on the great and fabled Star Fox team, causing them to go their own separate ways. Falco had left and formed his own team called Star Falco, consisting of Katt Monroe and Dash Bowman. The tan vulpine let out a sad laugh. "_Never thought Falco was the one to lead, more like a loose cannon that needed a direction to be pointed in…"_

Slippy had settled down on Aquas with his wife, Amanda, which from what Fox hears, are happily living together with an army of children. Just a few weeks ago, Fox had gone and visited the happy couple to check up on Slippy's progress on his new wrist-com he had requested. Nearly right when he entered through the door, several baby toads mauled him, yelling "Uncle Fox!"

The vulpine could only smile at the only few happy memories he had in the past year, as they were his sanctuary from his true pain and misery of the loss of Krystal. After the Anglar Blitz, she had gone completely off the radar, seemingly fading from existence. He could only hope that one day he would find her, and bring the vixen back into his life.

Fox could feel a tear slightly falling down his cheek, and didn't seem to do anything about it but continue walking towards his destination. He was contacted by a mysterious otter, who told him to meet him at a bar in the northern boundaries of Kew City. It was a strange job, but Fox could care less if it was a trap or not, his will to live sapped to nothing in the past few years of misery.

After what seemed to be several hours of walking, he arrived at his location. It was nothing but a local rundown bar that surprisingly brought in a lot of business. From what the locals said, it's has been in the same location since the planet was first colonized in the Great Expansion three hundred years ago. He gave the bar one last glance before walking in through the front doors.

Right when the vulpine entered, he was nearly knocked over by the strong smell of alcohol, smoke, sweat, and bile. He even thought he could literally smell shame. It was hard to make out anything within the hazy environment, but with his keen vision he could see the outline of the interior.

The bar was surprisingly in good upkeep, even though the outside of the building contradicted it. There were several brand new tables and chairs strung around the inside, along with a well polished bar the stretched from one side of the wall to the other, littered with several stools. He saw an open seat on the far left, next to a bear and what seemed to be a vixen clad in a black leather vest and pants.

He walked up to the bar stool and sat down, and asked for a shot of vodka when the barkeep approached him. He downed the shot and continued to stare at the empty glass for a few minutes until his thoughts were interrupted by a voice to his right.

"So, what is the great Fox McCloud doing all the way out here? You're a long way from home, you know." Fox looked to his left and got a better look at the vixen sitting next to him. She wore a black thermal shirt under her black leather vest, along with matching black leather pants, also covering her eyes with a dark pair of black Oakley's. She also had shoulder length purple hair that was thrown back into a long, single ponytail. Yet, the only detail that caught his eye most was the blue fur that she had.

Fox could only stare at the radiant blue color, but he knew it wasn't Krystal, because there was no shade of white fur. Her base color of blue was also dark blue instead of a light cerulean that Krystal's was. There was also no hint of the Cerinian accent in her voice, which was unique to Cerinians.

"Hey you in there McCloud?" The vixen noticed his mindless stare and tried snapping out of it.

"Sorry, you just reminded me of someone I knew…" Fox felt a sudden rush of loss and sorrow as all of his memories were forced back up in a sudden upheaval from all of the bottled emotions in the past year. She noticed a tear sliding down his cheek. "Uhh, are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name." The vulpine was curious on who this vixen sitting next to him was. She had all the body features of Krystal, yet all of the miniscule details were far too different for him to believe it was actually her.

"My name is Kursed, and it's rare that you see a celebrity out in the far reaches of space like this. Especially on Kew, people would love to get their hands on someone like you."

"Well Kursed, let's just say I don't care if I live or die anymore… I would actually open it with open arms, as I lost the will to live along with someone dear to me, due to a foolish and selfish mistake on my own part…"

"You mean that blue girl right? You know I think I've seen her around here before, what was her name? Krystal wasn't it?"

Fox ears instantly perked up and he no longer slouched. He turned toward the vixen to his right and looked at her through hopeful eyes. He withdrew a picture he always kept with him; it was of their first date on Corneria shortly after the Aparoid invasion. In the photo they were sharing their first kiss, taken by an unsuspecting Peppy who greeted them in the docking bay. "She's the one on the left, are you sure you've seen her?"

"Yea I saw that vixen a couple of days ago, said she was staying at some hotel down the road from here."

"Well then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's go!" Fox was brimming with joy and hope to finally get a chance at closure, or even a chance at rekindling their relationship that he had so bitterly ended. Before he could get up, however, Kursed stopped him.

"You still love her don't you?" Fox detected a tone of voice that he didn't quite recognize, but he went along with it, to try and get to her as quickly as possible. "More than anything in the world… If it came to it, I would gladly give my life to save her. Now let's go I have to see her now!" He paid the bartender the bill and made his way out the door with Kursed, seemingly forgetting about his mission. It was a rather short walk to the hotel, but in about twenty minutes they arrived at their destination.

Fox could barely keep his sanity in check as he was brimming with excitement and nervousness on levels he never knew. They entered into the lobby and walked across the tiled floor to several elevators. It only took a few seconds for one to arrive, and they took it to the top floor that consisted of the suites. Kursed kept biting her lip, wondering how this would play out, but during her silent walk to the hotel, she finally found what she deemed the best way to reveal her true identity to him. After all, she could sense he was truly in agony with his decision, and wanted nothing more to hold her once more in his arms. She, of course, only wanted the exact same thing.

They finally arrived at the floor and they both strode down the small hallway to room 15. Kursed let out a sigh and glanced towards the Fox to her right. Now in actual lighting, she could actually see how the past year has treated him, whom she saw now, was horrible. He had heavy bags under his eyes, no doubt caused by his sleepless nights of misery, and unkempt matted hair all over his body.

"Well are you ready? I have a key to her room as she hired me to bring in someone awhile back and told me I could use the room whenever. I don't know if she's hear right not, but we can always stay and wait."

Fox took one last deep breath of air, thinking that maybe when she saw him, she was going to kill him out of pure anger. "Ok, I' ready."

Kursed grabbed her keycard to the suite and opened the door. He slowly walked in, expecting to see her beautiful white and blue figure in the room somewhere, but noticed that no trace of her was here. He let out a heavy sigh and dropped his head to the floor. "She… She isn't here…"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" Fox instantly recognized the voice and turned around to see only Kursed standing in the room with him. It didn't make sense to him, because he would never forget her voice, her accent was too unique. "_Unless… No it couldn't be…"_

Kursed was now right inches from Fox and she slowly nodded and stated, "Yes Fox it is Krystal and you don't know how long I've been waiting for this day." With that ending of her sentence she threw herself upon Fox, locking her muzzle with the shocked vulpine that looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

Fox couldn't have been happier.

**Present Day**

"Then, then all of this fucking happened!" He was now sitting up in his chair, throwing several empty bottles of liquor at the bare walls. "You seemed to put on quite the little act, huh Krystal? I thought we were happy together, truly in love as you said it yourself… Yet that one day when you first spot him, you just got up and fucking left with everything and don't even say good bye to me…" He didn't care if he was yelling at the top of his lungs. For all he knew he was alone in his house, and didn't give a rats ass if his neighbors heard him.

Now he was being rushed with more painful memories, especially the one that he deemed ruined his life most of all. The day that Krystal found out she wasn't the last Cerinian…

**Eight Months Ago**

"_She's so beautiful… I have to be the luckiest guy in the whole galaxy to end up with someone like her at my side."_

Krystal couldn't help but wonder what this sudden date was for. She had specifically told him that he didn't have to go out of his way to show her that he still loved her, because she knew it from reading his mind. The only detail that worried her, however, was the fact that Fox had specifically told her not to use her telepathy the whole night. Of course Krystal being one to respect his privacy abided his wishes.

Now she could feel suspense building up inside of her and almost ready to blow. It wasn't every day that Fox had planned something like this; it seemed to be out of the blue and all of the sudden. Yet they were dressed as if they were going to a wedding. Fox was in a black tuxedo, and Krystal was in the nicest dress she had.

When the car finally came to a stop, is when she noticed where the event was taking place. Her eyes widened in amazement as she read the title of the restaurant. "No…" She muttered that single word under her breath, and then turned to the smiling vulpine next to her and she pulled him into a fierce hug of gratitude. "Fox, is that why you told me not to use telepathy? You sly fox! How long did you have to wait to get reservations?"

"Well being the savior of the Lylat system on several occasions makes the wait time, well, next to nothing."

That even surprised Krystal even more. This was the first time she had actually seen Fox use his fame to exploit for his own mutual gain. "_There's something he isn't telling me, but I promised not to peak into his mind… Damnit my curiosity is going to be the end of me!"_ The vulpine couple got out of the car and walked into the restaurant.

"Hello and welcome to Corneria's _Vadojk. _We've been expecting you Mr. McCloud and Ms. Krystal, please follow me to your seats." They were greeted by their waiter, who seemed to be a fairly well groomed brown echidna. He led them over to a two seat table that was adorned with a vase of roses and a pure white table cloth, along with several other romantic decorations around the room that seemed to give off a certain romantic aura.

"Now, what would a lovely couple like you want to drink with your meals tonight?" The echidna gave them a warm smile.

"Give us the finest bottle of champagne that this place has to offer!" The fox returned the smile to the waiter who replied in return, "Ahh, good choice Mr. McCloud, I'll be right back with your drinks and to take your orders for tonight." The echidna bowed to the couple and strode off towards another pair of customers.

Right then and there, the worst thing could have happened to Fox McCloud. His stomach made a fierce growl and caused Fox to wince in pain. "_Oh you have to be shitting me! Of all times to have to get stomach cramps it has to be now? Just my fucking luck!"_

Krystal witnessed his sudden reaction and asked in a worried voice, "Fox are you okay? You seem to be in pain." She looked at him with a worried frown on her face. "Yea, I'll be fine Krystal. If the waiter comes back, just tell him I'm in the men's room." She watched as the vulpine made his way to the bathroom, in a faster pace than a normal walk. The blue vixen let out a gentle laugh, thinking "_Only Fox would have the luck to get stomach cramps on a night as perfect as this!"_ This is when she was given the chance to actually take in her surroundings.

Krystal glanced around the room, looking at all the happy couples enjoying their meals, seemingly lost in each other's love. She smiled at the thought, as she still had a hard time believing that she was given a second chance at loving Fox. The vixen kept that smile as she glanced around the room, only for it to turn into an expression of pure shock. Krystal gasped for air, noticing that sitting alone at the bar on the other side of the restaurant was a Cerinian male, but not just any Cerinian male, he was of royal blood, just like her. She couldn't believe it, that sitting in front of her was the person whom she had a childish crush on her for whole life on Cerinia until it was destroyed by a force still unknown to her. It was Prince Kerin, of the Southern Hemisphere. Her parents had ruled the Northern Hemisphere and had arranged her to marry him before the planet was destroyed to unite the planet under one Monarchy.

Instantly forgetting about her current situation, she rushed over to him sitting alone at the bar.

**Twenty Minutes Later…**

"_Shit, Krystal is going to be pissed at me that was the worst stomach cramps I've ever had! That's the last time I eat go to a human restaurant… Damn taco's go right through me!"_ He came out of the bathroom and went over to his table, only to see Krystal wasn't there anymore. "_Huh, that's odds… Where could she be?"_

He sat down at the table and waited to see if she was in the restroom also, when the waiter came up to the table. "Hey have you seen Krystal?" The waiter gave him a pained look, one that seemed to be out of pity. It caused confusion in the vulpine. "She's over at the bar sitting with another blue fox, I'm sorry McCloud but I wouldn't go in there if I were you. Just leave and save yourself the pain." Now Fox was really confused, he heard the words 'another blue fox' and something about causing him pain.

He instantly got up and walked over to the entrance of the bar and scouted around, only to have his eyes lay on two blue figures sitting in the corner, their muzzles locked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; his worst fear of all had just come true. Sitting there making out with what he was planning on being his fiancé, was another Cerinian male.

It seemed for years that the vulpine sat there, watching silently with silent tears streaming down his face at a sight he couldn't bring himself to accept. That's when Krystal broke the kiss and Fox saw something that she hadn't done for quite awhile. "_She was blushing…"_

That's when she caught something with her peripheral vision, something orange, which snapped her back to reality. Her blissful expression that Fox only saw twice when they were first dating locked onto Fox's of utter betrayal. She didn't know what to say, she had blacked out for the past thirty minutes as it seemed, and now she is locking her gaze at the most horrific look she had ever seen. When she was Kursed, she even tortured her targets for information, yet that gaze she received was ten times worse than those of her weakest targets.

Fox then turned around and walked out of the restaurant silently, leaving a stack of bills on their table to pay for the champagne. Without knowing it, he pulled out the box that contained her engagement ring and threw it at the door to the restaurant as he got into his car. He turned the car on and sped off towards the only place that he would ever be alone at and think over what he just saw.

Krystal came running out of the restaurant, tears streaming down her eyes at the realization of what she had just done. That's when she kicked something with her foot. She looked down, and noticed a small black box on the pavement of the parking lot, that seemed to be damaged. Subconsciously, she picked it up and opened it, only to gasp at the sudden realization of what the whole evening was for. "_He was going to propose to me, and you let your childish dreams take over and fuck your future up, Krystal! Way to fucking go!"_ She sat on the curb and started to sob, when she noticed Kerin came out and sat next to her and wrapped an arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Krystal. You don't need him, we have each other, and we can keep the Cerinian blood line pure and start to save our race. You know you can't refuse my offer; after all we loved each other."

Krystal only gave a slight nod in response.

**Present Time**

It had been a few hours after Fox's emotional outburst when Falco came into his room. When he spotted the condition the vulpine was in, he gave him a slight frown. "Hey Foxie, wake up!"

Fox slowly started to get up and looked at the blue avian in front of him. "Well it's good to see that you didn't cheat on me, Falco." Falco only shook his head in response. "Look, I just set us up a gig down at the old club we used to go to when we were in the academy, remember? We use to go there and play all the time; I thought it would help cheer you up man."

Fox sighed, and gave Falco a fake smile. "Yea that does sound fun, I'll meet you at the car, okay?"

Falco gave the vulpine a nod and walked out of the house and down to his car parked on the side walk.

Before he went out of the front door, he noticed the note that Krystal left him before she grabbed her belongings in his absence and returning the ring he threw at the building. He only scowled at the memory, and for once, ripped the note to pieces and littering them on the floor. He continued out of the door and sat in the passenger seat of Falco's car. "Alright, let's go, I haven't played in years!"

"There's the McCloud that I know!" Falco returned to his normal cocky attitude and sped off towards the club they used to go to and play at when they were still 18, so many years ago.

**A Few Hours Later**

"Alright, Fox we go live in a few minutes! That new song you wrote is sick, by the way! The place is going to love it. How did you come with the lyrics also?" Falco questioned the vulpine on what he deemed his masterpiece.

"It comes pretty easy when you think about your past, when it's filled with nothing but pain…" Fox sighed but then got back into his normal upbeat mood that this gig put him in. "Alright Falco, inform the drummer and bass guitarist that were ready. I'll take vocals and lead guitar." The avian gave him a nod as they stepped onto the stage.

The whole club seemed to quiet down as they saw the band pile onto the stage with their instruments in hand. Fox walked up and stood in front of all of the faces in the dark crowd. He couldn't make out any of them as all of the lights were focused on him. The vulpine looked to Falco and the other two players that agreed to go along with the one song, and gave them a nod that was ready. Instruments in hand, Fox started out by playing a simple rift.

_A note by the door  
Simply explains  
It's all that remains  
It's no wonder why  
I have not slept in days  
The dust on the floor  
Piled up from the years  
All those scars and souvenirs  
Now that you're gone  
It's easy to see  
But so hard to believe_

By the way  
You left without saying  
Goodbye to me  
Now that you're gone away  
All I can think about is  
You and me  
You and me

It's not like before  
You left nothing here  
It's all disappeared  
It hurts me to see  
That we've been a lie  
Would it have hurt you to try?

By the way  
You left without saying  
Goodbye to me  
Now that you're gone away

All I can think about is  
You and me  
You and me

It's sad to say that  
This pain is killing me inside  
But it's time to say  
That this pain is keeping me alive  
Twisting and turning  
It rips through my heart  
It's been tearing me apart

By the way  
You left without saying  
Goodbye to me  
Now that you're gone away  
All I can think about is  
You and me  
You and me

All i think about now  
Is you and me  
You and me  
All i think about now  
Is you and me  
You and me

By the way  
By the way  
By the way

(**By the Way – Theory of a Deadman**)

There was a few seconds of silence before the crowd erupted in cheers. He could hear Falco behind him whisper, "Dude Fox, that was fucking amazing!" He only nodded, as his joyous mood was over as he now remembered who the lyrics were aimed at. They slowly walked offstage and he walked over to the bar counter alone, asking for a double shot of vodka. That's when he saw the last person he expected to sit next to him, yet the person who he never wanted to see in his life again. "Come back to finish the job, Krys?"

The blue vixen only hung her head in shame as she realized her foolish mistake and the pained it had caused him. Sure, she thought she was happy with Kerin, acting on her childish love for him, but it wasn't true love that she had with Fox. That night she had listened to her mind, not her heart, and it royally screwed her over.

"I came to you Fox, to ask for your forgiveness…" She knew she wouldn't get the answer she was hoping for.

Fox let out a sad laugh. "You expect me to take you back with open arms, do you? Well let me recall how this went down… I planned out a night for four months, to make you my future wife, and what do I get in return? The girl of my dreams kissing another man in front of me after I come from the bathroom. How do I know that if I turn my back once more that you won't just reopen an already wounded heart?"

She thought she heard hatred in his tone of voice, but it wasn't there. It was nothing but pure sorrow, as the memories of her came back to him and kept replaying in his mind like some sort of sick joke. "I don't expect you to take me back Fox, it's just that night, I blacked out and I didn't know what I was doing… I knew I should've listened to my heart that yearned for you Fox, but I listened to my mind, and it ends in my own torturous misery. I still love you with all of my heart, Fox McCloud. That's all I wanted to say."

He could hear her slightly sobbing next to him. The one sound that could only tear through him faster than a speeding bullet was her crying. He couldn't actually believe that he was accepting her apology. He knew that they couldn't go back to what they were, but at least they could restart over at a second chance. He made a first mistake, and then she made hers. Fox then muttered under his breath, "An eye for an eye makes the world blind…"

"What did you say Fox?"

"Krystal, you know that I also love you until my dying breath, but what I experienced that day is nothing that can be mended in one night. We can't go back to what we were; only time can tell. Now before I start rambling on more, what of Kerin?"

"I caught him cheating on me…" She now remembered the day that she walked in on him with another girl, and all he could do was smile back at her. Now she realized what happened that night. He had used her and tricked her into getting into her pants. "_The heartless bastard was slimier than Panther…"_

Fox growled menacingly. "Oh really? Well if you don't mind I'm going to go kill the last Cerinian."

Krystal could only laugh at how over protective he was. That's when she locked her gaze onto his and the two sat there staring into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity, slowly inching their muzzles closer and closer, unti-

"Hey Foxie what the fuck are you doing? Let's go! I have to a date with Katt to get to!" Falco yelled at Fox from the entrance of the club and ran out to the car.

Krystal only laughed some more, and was caught totally off guard. "Fuck Falco, that's the last time he does that." He then locked Krystal in a kiss that neither of them could describe in words. It was the kiss that renewed their love for each other, and finally shows them to the brighter future that they had hoped they shared with each other.

**Two Years Later**

"You may now kiss the Bride."

Fox and Krystal only stared at each other and locked their muzzles, sealing each other's happiness and forging a bond that not even death can break. Despite all of the scars and souvenirs that they had collected over the years, their love persevered, and would last until their last mortal hour.

_~Fin~_

* * *

_Don't forget to review! :D  
_

_Like i said, it may not be good, just something to cure my writer's block while listening to my playlist for inspiration!_


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